Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • March 2022
General Features

World view: Lebanon

Open-access content Wednesday 2nd March 2022
Authors
Ibrahim Muhanna

Ibrahim Muhanna looks back on founding the first independent actuarial consulting firm in the Arab world, and supporting actuarial education in underserved countries

tyd

In 1978, amid Lebanon’s civil war, I returned to the country to be close to my parents and started working at a large national composite insurer. At the time, there were just six other actuaries in the country; four had studied in France and two in Switzerland. I was 24 years old; the next youngest actuary was 40. I had graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Harbor and spent two years working for a small life insurer in the US.

Fledgling actuary

During my six years in Lebanon, my actuarial work was minimal – but my actuarial education helped me think differently to others. This led me to management roles, and responsibilities supporting and developing insurance business for several countries in which my employer had interests.

In 1984, my home was hit by a rocket. Fortunately, my wife and three children survived it, and within a couple of days we were on a boat to Cyprus, fleeing the shelling. We had fled from the war a couple of times a year over the years, but that voyage was the start of an extended stay abroad.

Industry to profession

In 1985, I surveyed the actuarial market in the Arab world and saw how much it was lagging behind. It had 13 actuaries in total (seven Lebanese and six Egyptian), not a single university taught actuarial science and no students were being sponsored to study abroad. The following year I established the region’s first independent actuarial consulting firm, expecting two major challenges: generating business and building actuarial capacity.

I divided potential clients into two categories: those being serviced by actuaries, and those that were not. As I approached those in the second category, I was faced with a lack of awareness about the profession from most management in the industry. This was compounded by weak insurance supervision at the time. It took me a few years to overcome this challenge. The journey to eventually working with hundreds of clients in dozens of countries was very interesting and rewarding. 

Building capacity was an uphill struggle – but a joyful one. After 15 months of searching for local actuaries, I struck gold during the 1988 International Congress of Actuaries in Helsinki, when Harry Panjer gave me the name of a Cypriot undergraduate actuarial student whom he had taught, George Psaras. On my return to Cyprus, I located George, who happened to be married to his (actuarial) classmate – so by the end of 1988, the firm had two new actuarial analysts.

I educated our clients about the actuarial profession and encouraged them to send their children to become actuaries. I was committed to building my business and promoting the profession. By its tenth anniversary, the consulting firm had three qualified actuaries and nine students, most of whom have qualified since then.

The subsequent 25 years were by no means smooth sailing. With maturity comes different pains. As my consulting practice grew in 20 countries, my ego grew bigger. It took me a few years to understand and accept that ego is a self-inflicted injury – it can lead to humiliation and bad judgment. Another painful experience related to a breach of employment contract from some senior employees, causing the company more than US$1m in losses. I look back and try to draw lessons and share experience with others.

Changing landscapes

In 1992, I became heavily involved in assisting the development of the actuarial profession in ex-Soviet states through the International Actuarial Association Fund. In 1994 I established the Muhanna Foundation, dedicated to actuarial education in the Arab region and beyond. It gives me great pleasure to have witnessed the region transform from actuarially underdeveloped to developing; it is currently being served by more than 100 qualified actuaries and thousands of actuarial analysts.

In the next couple of years I will turn 70, and the time has come for me to set my exit strategy from the firm in motion. In my next life stage, I would like to concentrate on writing and be more involved in public speaking.

Ibrahim Muhanna is the founder of the first independent actuarial consulting firm in the Arab world. In 2007, he was awarded the National Order of the Cedar by the Lebanese president, and in 2020 received the International Actuarial Consulting Association Max Lander Lifetime Achievement Award

Image credit | Shutterstock

Actuary Banner march6.png
This article appeared in our March 2022 issue of The Actuary.
Click here to view this issue
Filed in
General Features
Topics
Global
Careers

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Calling all GI Actuaries looking to move into contracting

England, London
£700 - £1000 per day
Reference
146169

A chance to gain capital modelling experience.

London, England
£70000 - £110000 per annum
Reference
146168

Capital Contractor GI

England, London
£700 - £1000 per day
Reference
146166
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ